Patent GB-665614-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to record card controlled machines
Filed: 1948-10-28
Abstract: 665,614. Statistical apparatus. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd. Oct. 28, 1948 [Nov. 3, 1947], No. 28019. Class 106 (i). In a record-card-controlled machine, cards may be sensed while continuously fed and, in addition, while held stationary. The machine described is for printing an account line by line on a record sheet under control of a group of cards comprising a heading card containing the name, street address, town and state followed by detail cards containing account items. These items are accumulated and printed and, when the last card of the group has been sensed, the total is printed. The card perforations may be sensed by contact brushes or, as described in detail, by photo-electric means. The cards may represent numerals and letters by one or two perforations according to a known code. Card feeding and sensing mechanism. The cards are fed from a hopper 92 to a stacker 93, Fig. 1b, by rollers driven from a shaft 85 which is coupled to the continuously rotating main. shaft 76 through a one-revolution clutch 83, Fig. 1a, operated by electromagnet 83a. They are fed continuously past a sensing station comprising a light source 122. Fig. 2a, mirror 130a, mirrors 124 and photo-cells 123, and a contact-closing lever FL senses the presence of cards. A second similar station comprises a sensing lever SL. mirror 130b and a light source and photo-cell system mounted on normally stationary side plates 118. At a third station, if a heading card is being fed the feed of the card is stopped and the second photo-electric sensing means is reciprocated over the stationary card by cams 114, Fig. 1b, connected by linkwork (now shown) to the plates 118. The cams are driven from a shaft 110 upon engagement of a one-revolution clutch 103, Fig. 1a, by energization of magnet 104a. Associated with each photo-cell is an amplifier unit 144a to 144b, Fig. 3b, comprising a circuit including a pair of triodes (not shown) from which the amplified output of the photocell is independently fed to terminals 126, 128, and thence to relay magnets described below. A voltage divider is provided which can be adjusted so that for a certain minimum amount of light on the photo-cell a cut-off potential is applied to the triodes. The cathodes are connected to negative potential via terminals 148, cam and relay-operated contacts, and the line 172. Printing mechanism. This is similar to the mechanism described in Specification 418,228 and is driven from the main shaft 76, Fig. 1b, through a magnet-operated one-revolution clutch (not shown). The mechanism is controlled by the timed energization of magnets 138 only, Fig. 3b, for printing numerals, with the subsequent energization of magnets 139 for alphabetical data. Accumulator. This is similar to that described in Specification 391,210 and comprises numeral wheels (not shown) which are driven from the main shaft 76, upon energization of magnets 78, Fig. 3b. Each digit is represented by a brush engaging one of ten electric contacts which are connected in the circuit of a commutator. 98, Fig. 1a. The accumulator is reset after a total taking operation by Geneva mechanism 80, described in Specification 405,031, upon energization of a magnet 60, Fig. 1a. Operation. The cards are first placed in the hopper 92 in correct sequence, i.e. in groups of heading card followed by detail cards. Power is supplied to the driving motor DM, Fig. 1a, and the operator then depresses a start key (not shown) which energizes the feed clutch magnet 83a to feed the first heading card. The key is depressed again to feed the first detail card and operations then proceed automatically under control of contact-operating cams CC, CF on shafts 76, 85 respectively, contact levers FL, SL, and relays, in a circuit part of which is shown in Fig. 3b. Near the end of the second card feed cycle the print clutch magnet (not shown) is energized and during the next cycle the heading and detail cards, sensed at the second and first stations respectively, Fig. 2a, are compared for group numbers. The group number is sensed by photo-cells connected to two amplifier units (not shown) at the first station and amplifier units 144a, Fig. 3b, at the second. The outputs of these amplifier units are fed to printing magnets, similar to magnets 138, 139, and to relays U (not shown) which are energized only if they receive simultaneously an impulse from each sensing station. The output of second station amplifier units 144c for sensing the name on the heading card is also fed to printing magnets 138, 139 through plug terminals 154a, 154b, and contacts of an energized relay C. The name and group number are thus printed and another impulse is sent to magnet 83a to pass the heading card to the third sensing station over mirror 130, Fig. 2a, when the card feed is temporarily stopped. Two successive impulses are then sent to magnet 104a, Fig. 1a, to cause the card to be scanned twice by the sensing means carried by plates 118. During these two scanning cycles, relays D, E are energized respectively to cause impulses corresponding to first the street address, sensed by photo-cells associated with amplifier units 144d, and then the town and state, sensed by photo-cells and amplifier units (not shown) to be passed to print magnets 138, 139. The feed clutch magnet 83a is then again energized to continue the feed of the cards, and the amounts on the detail cards are sensed at the second station and, due to closed contacts K3 of a now energized relay K and amplifier units 144b, impulses are sent to the accumulator magnets 78. The amounts are also printed due to connections from units 144b to printing magnets 138, 139, and other data sensed on the detail cards may be printed due to further connections, e.g. from units 144c, 144d, through further contacts of relay K. When a break in the group control number occurs due to the heading card of the next group being fed to the first station, at least one of the relays U, Fig. 3a (not shown), is not energized and as a result a magnet TM, Fig. 1a, is energized to start a total-taking cycle. The magnet engages a clutch to drive shaft 107 carrying contact-operating cams T and the commutator 98. Rotation of the commutator causes the amount on the accumulator to be read out and corresponding impulses to be sent to print magnets. During the cycle the reset magnet 60 is energized and relay C is again energized to start the series of operations described above on the next group of cards.